Journal article
A thesaurus for improved communication and data integration in sandy beach ecosystem research
Earth Science Informatics, Vol.19(8), pp.1-11
2026
Abstract
Sandy beaches are important interfaces between land and sea that support unique biodiversity and provide ecosystem services on which many coastal communities depend. However, beaches are under significant anthropogenic pressures, compounded by global change impacts. These contemporary challenges require greater multidisciplinary research and collaboration to develop management solutions that meet social, economic and ecological demands. Communication gaps among scientists from different disciplines can arise when similar variables or features are described using different terms, or when the same term is used with different meanings, thereby hindering progress in multidisciplinary research. To address this, we developed a Sandy Beach Thesaurus that provides a standardised set of terms and definitions for beach geomorphological features, environmental factors, and sampling methods. We followed a structured, multi-phase approach including: (1) literature review, (2) term extraction, (3) hierarchical organisation, (4) mapping and alignment, and (5) review and validation. The thesaurus was developed using VocBench, which follows the Simple Knowledge Organisation System (SKOS). Finally, the Sandy Beach Thesaurus was published on EcoPortal, a platform of LifeWatch ERIC, where it supports data and metadata comparability and facilitates data integration across studies.
Details
- Title
- A thesaurus for improved communication and data integration in sandy beach ecosystem research
- Authors
- Senem Onen Tarantini (Corresponding Author) - University of SalentoJessica Titocci - National Research CouncilAndrea Tarallo - National Research CouncilOmar Defeo - Universidad de la República de UruguayThomas Schlacher - University of the Sunshine CoastGuilherme Corte - Texas A&M University at GalvestonCarlos Alberto de Moura Barboza - Universidade Federal do Rio de JaneiroLeonardo Lopes Costa - State University of Norte FluminenseIvan Franco Rodil - Universidad de CádizLinda R. Harris - Nelson Mandela UniversityJeffrey A. Sibaja-Cordero - Universidad de Costa RicaMartina Pulieri - University of SalentoAlberto Basset - University of SalentoLucia Fanini - University of Salento
- Publication details
- Earth Science Informatics, Vol.19(8), pp.1-11
- Publisher
- Springer
- Date published
- 2026
- DOI
- 10.1007/s12145-026-02181-z
- ISSN
- 1865-0481
- Data Availability
- The Sandy Beach Thesaurus has been published and is fully accessible on EcoPortal at: https://ecoportal.lifewatch.eu/ontologies/SBTHES.
- Grant note
- Individual authors acknowledge support from their respective institutions and funding bodies: S.O.T. and M.P. were supported by LifeWatch Italy through the project “LifeWatchPLUS (CIR-01_00028)”. A.T. and J.T. were supported by EU - Next Generation EU Mission 4 “Education and Research” Project IR0000032 - ITINERIS. O.D. was supported by Comisión Sectorial de Investigación Científica (CSIC Grupos ID 32). L.L.C. was supported by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro - FAPERJ (E-656 26.210.384/2022 and E-26.200.620/2022).
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991242297102621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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